05 July - Antoine was born in Cremona in the Duchy of Milan in 1503. He loses his father when he is only two years old. An only child, he is raised by his mother. He studied philosophy at the University of Pavia and then, in 1520, medicine in Padua. At the end of his studies, he practised as a doctor in Cremona between 1524 and 1527.
In 1527 he began religious studies in order to become a priest, he was ordained in 1528. He worked intensely in hospitals and other institutions that welcomed the poor before becoming the spiritual director of Countess Ludovica Torelli, whom he accompanied to Milan in 1530. It was during his stay in Milan that he founded the Clerics Regular of St. Paul, as well as that of the Angelic Sisters of St. Paul, the women's branch, and the Oblates of St. Paul, for married people. These three branches are dedicated to parish ministry, to the education of young people and to the evangelical mission with the aim of reforming and helping the society of their time.
The foundations of the Barnabite doctrine are based on the Eucharist and the teaching of St. Paul. However, by denouncing certain abuses of the Catholic Church, Antoine-Marie made many enemies to the point of being accused of heresy, an accusation from which he was twice cleared.
In 1536, he went to Vicenza, where he reformed two convents and founded the second house of his order. It was during his stay in Vicenza that he popularised the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament among the laity and instituted the ringing of church bells on Fridays at 3 p.m. in memory of Christ's crucifixion.
During a mission to Guastalla in 1539, he was afflicted with a high fever, which, combined with his many mortifications and precarious health, took him away. He died on 5 July 1539 at the age of 37. His funeral was celebrated in Cremona and he was buried in the cemetery of the convent of the Sisters of Saint Paul. Twenty-seven years later, his remains were raised and his body was discovered incorrupted and transferred to Milan and buried in the monastery of San Paolo delle Angeliche. On May 8, 1891, his relics were exhumed and transferred to the Church of San Barnaba in Milan. Antoine-Marie Zaccaria was beatified on 3 January 1890 in Rome by Pope Leo XIII and canonised by the same Pope on 15 May 1897.
